Abstract
Energy produced from plant residue composting has stimulated great interest in heat recovery and utilization. Composting is an exothermic process often controlled through temperature measurements. However, energy analysis of the overall composting system, especially the rotary bioreactors, is generally not well known and very limited. This study presents detailed energy analysis in a laboratory-scale, batch-operated, rotary bioreactor used for composting tomato plant residues. The bioreactor was considered as a thermodynamic system operating under unsteady state conditions. The composting process was described, the input generated and lost energy terms as well as the relative importance of each term were quantitatively evaluated, and the composting phases were clearly identified. Results showed that the compost temperature peaked at 72 h of operation reaching 66.7 °C with a heat generation rate of 9.3 W·kg−1 of organic matter. During the composting process, the accumulated heat generation was 1.9 MJ·kg−1 of organic matter; only 4% of this heat was gained by the composting material, and 96% was lost outside the bioreactor. Contributions of thermal radiation, aeration, cylindrical, and side-walls surfaces of the reactor on the total heat loss were 1%, 2%, 69%, and 28%, respectively. The information obtained is applicable in the design, management, and control of composting operations and in improvement of bioreactor effectiveness and productivity.
Highlights
In Saudi Arabia, tomato crop represents 15.5% of the total cultivated area, producing about0.5 million tons per year, and greenhouse production represents 58% of the greenhouse total vegetable production, with a production area of 1550 hectares, yielding about 0.2 million tons per year [1]
The objective of this study is to provide thermal analysis of composting tomato plant residues in a laboratory-scale rotary drum bioreactor and to evaluate the relative importance of each energy term relating to the total generated
3 rpm) and to evaluate the relative importance of each energy term relating to the total generated heat
Summary
In Saudi Arabia, tomato crop represents 15.5% of the total cultivated area, producing about0.5 million tons per year, and greenhouse production represents 58% of the greenhouse total vegetable production, with a production area of 1550 hectares, yielding about 0.2 million tons per year [1]. In Saudi Arabia, tomato crop represents 15.5% of the total cultivated area, producing about. Typical vegetable greenhouse operations produce 40–60 tons of organic residues per hectare per year [2]. The greenhouse industry in Saudi Arabia currently produces over than 0.3 million tons of organic wastes per year [2]. Composting of plant residues is considered to be the most desirable organic waste management method [3]. Enclosed or in-vessel systems use fixed or rotary bioreactors for composting have been developed. These systems can process large amounts of waste without taking up much space, and they offer good control of the environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture content, and airflow rate [5].
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